Device for axially shifting cigarettes and mouthpieces together



' jan.. 28, 958 K. BRUNswlG 2,821,201

DEVICE FOR AXIALLY SHIFTING CIGARETTES AND MOUTHPIECES TOGETHER Filed April 25, 195e 74 /4 fngt 2 United States Patent DEVICE FOR AXILLY SHIFTING CIGARETTES AND MOUTHPEECES TOGETHER' Karl Brunswig decemed, late of Hamburg-Lohlarugge;

by Irma Brunswig, geb. Schmalfeltlt, Hannelore Glissmann, geh. Brunswigand Karin Brunswig, heirs, Harnbnrg-Lohbrugge, Germany, assignors to Kurt Krber & Co; K. G., Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany ApplicationApril 23, 1956, Serial No. 593,005

Claims priority, application Germany April 29, 1955 9 Claims. (Cl. 2131-94) This invention relates to shifting devices for cigarettes in general, and more particularly, to shifting devices which eiect axial endwise movement of cigarettes into end-to-end engagement. The invention has particular applicability to the axial. shifting. of cigarettes and mouthpieceV attachments therefor, such. as filter tips, in conveying apparatus for such cigarettes.

A general object of the invention is to provide an improved axial shifting device for groups of cigarettes and interposed mouthpiece attachments, which will elect endto-end engagement of such cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments, the latter beinginitially in a somewhat spaced end-to-end relation.

A. more speciiic object of the invention is to provide an improved shifting device for cigarettes, which are conveyed in the grooves of a conveyor drum, whereby the cigarettes. are pressed endwise axially together while in the grooves of the. conveyor drum.

A furtherobject. of the invention is to provide an improved shiftingv device, particularly adaptable for high. speed operation, in which a pair of spaced disc rings are rotated with a grooved conveyor drum carrying cigarettes within the grooves, the disc rings being resiliently supported. by elastic means,y such as tension springs, for example, extending radially from the axis of the conveyor drum. The inner ends of the tension springs are preferably securedr to al flange ring, secured to and movable with the rotating conveyor drum.

ln United States patent application, Serial No. 396,824, and filed December 8, 1953, there isshown and described a device adaptable for shifting together a group of cigarettes and their associated mouthpiece attachments, for instance filter tips, and filter units. The groups of cigarettes are disposed in the grooves of a grooved conveyor drum. The shifting together of the groups of cigarettes must be performed during the continuous movement of the conveying means, for example the grooved conveyor drum, by means of disc rings disposed on the sides of the conveyor drum. The disc rings are biased outwardly in opposite directions, along the axis of the conveyor drum, by helical springs, and the disc rings are engaged. by rollers spaced an adjustable distance apart. The helical springs are mounted upon bolts provided with heads, the bolts being positioned concentrically of the axis of the conveyor drum on both sides of the drum.

lt was found, however, that when the speed of the drum was increased, the disc rings did not separate quickly enough following their engagement with the guiding rollers. This is believed to result from the friction between the mounting holes in the disc rings and the bolts, which pass through the holes. As a result, the required intermediate space between the disc rings on the opposite side of the drum from the guiding rollers was not always assured.

The present invention eliminates the disadvantages of the foregoing arrangement by biasing the disc rings towardl the axis of the conveyor drum by means which eX- 2,821,201 Patented Jan. 28, 1958 ICC tend radially from. theaxis, and which means are fastenedy to the ends of the. drum. Consequently, the guiding bolts used in.. the aforesaid application for guiding the. springs arerendered unnecessary.

A further advantage, according tothe present invention, consists inl that practically the Whole radius of the conveyor drum is. available for the length of the. spring meansv employed, so that even despite thev rather high speed utilized, and the relatively light spring action, still there is suliicientv spring reaction since theV extension of thespring means. is only. a small proportion; of its. length.

A preferred modiiicati'on of the present'invention pro.- videsthat the guiding plates comprise twov disc rings disposed. in the. same plane. and. concentric to the. axis` of the conveyor drum. The inner ring is angefshaped in cross-section and is secured to the side of the conveyor drum, Whereas the outer of. said rings is connected with the angering` only by elastic means. In order to. be. able. to. adjust' the. distance separating. the guiding plates. to accommodate dilerent lengths of cigarette groups, there isv provided according to-I the present invention, means for adjusting. axially they guiding plates and their elastic means relative to thesides of the conveyor drum.

Further. objects and advantageswill readily become apparent upon reading' thefollowing specification, taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1v shows av vertical sectional view througha. preferred. embodiment of the invention, illustrating the location of4 the disc. rings with their associated; liange rings andthe -guiding rollers;

Fig.v 2 shows fragmentarily an end elevational. view of a disc ring and its associated flange ring with tensioning elements, looking in the direction ll-ll of Fig. l.;

Fig. 3. shows an enlarged cross-sectional view through a disc ring cuty witha bevel on and in dottedl lines its actual engagement with the end of a cigarette group; and

Fig. 4V illustrates a view similar to Fig. 3, but employing an. elastic diaphragm, instead of tension springs.

Referring to the drawing, and. more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the reference numeral 1 designates a shaft mounted in a machine support 2 and carrying a conveyor drum. 3. having grooves 4 spaced along its circumference. The conveyor drum 3 may be driven by any suitable means, not shown.. In. the groovesl are. disposed, for instance, two. cigarettes. 5, with a mouthpiece attachment 6 interposed therebetween. The mouthpiece. attachment 6, for example, may be a lter tip of double normal. length.

On. the opposite sides. of the conveyor drum 3 are provided a pair of spaced disc rings 7, 8, which are disposed concentrically with respect to the conveyor drum 3. The disc rings 7, 8 are supported by elastic means 9, in this particular instance comprising a plurality of tension spring elements lil'. The inner ends of the tension springs 10 areconnected to flange rings 7a, 8a, associated respectively with the disc rings 7, 8'. The. llange rings 7a, 8a, are adjustably secured torelatively large ange rings 11, 12 so that they may be adjusted axially along the direction. of the shaft 1.

As. shown in Fig. 1, abutment means, in. this instance comprising a pair of spaced abutments 14, having rotatable guide rollers 15. which rotate with respect to the abutments 14., are provided bearing upon the sides of the disc rings 7, 8. I-n. the absence of the abutment means 13 with the guide rollers 15, the disc rings 7, S would be freely supported upon the flange rings 7a, Sa and would be disposed parallel to the opposite side faces of the conveyor drum. 3. The guiding rollers 1'5, which are rotatably mounted on the abutments 14, bear against the sides of the disc rings 7, 8, at a point on the circumference of' the conveyor drum which is4 nearest to the loca.-V

3 tion, at` which the cigarette groups 17 are transferred from the conveyor drum 3.

On the opposite side of the conveyor drum, the disc rings 7, 8 being remotely positioned from the rollers 15, 'are spaced `apart a suiiiciently large distance to accommodate the insertion of new cigarette groups 17, comprising two cigarettes 5 and the interposed double-length lter tip 6, within the grooves 4 of the conveyor drum 3.

In order to insure that the Whole side surface of the disc ring 8, for example, engages the end of the cigarette S, means are provided to render the side surface of the disc ring 8 parallel with the end surface of the cigarette 5. Fig. 3 shows how this may be accomplished, by providing a bevel 18 on the disc ring 8, having an angle a With the vertical.

With reference to the elastic means 9 comprising the tension elements i0, it is obvious that instead of employingi tension springs 1t), other elastic means could be utilized, such as plate springs, rubber spokes, or the like. .t 1s also possible to use rubber discs, or diaphragms 19, as shown in Fig. 4, secured by screws 20 to the side of a slightly modified disc ring 21. All such elastic arrangements are within the scope of the present invention.

From the foregoing description it is obvious how the arrangement functions, but briey, by way of recapitulation, the cigarette groupings 17 are carried around by the rotation of the conveyor drum 3. Near the location of the abutment means 13, the disc rings 7, 8 are pressed inwardly by the rotatable guide rollers 15, and this causes the sides of the disc rings 7, 8 to contact the ends of the cigarette groups 17 and to cause a shifting inward movement of the originally spaced cigarettes 5 and the interposed mouthpiece attachment 6. Close end-to-end contact of the cigarettes 5 and mouthpiece attachment 6 results, prior to the transfer of the group 17 off of the conveyor drum 3.

Although there has been shown and described a specific structure of an axial shifting device for cigarettes, it is to be understood that the same has been described merely for the purpose of illustration, and that changes and modiiications may readily be made therein by those skilled 1in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, elastic means disposed radially of the axis of said conveyor drum for elastically supporting said disc rings radially of the axis of said conveyor drum, and spaced abutment means for bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

2. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including aY conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, a pair of associated supporting ange rings, means securing said pair of supporting ange rings to the ends of said conveyor drum concentrically of the axis of said drum, and elastic means extending radially of each supporting flange ring for supporting radially one of said disc rings associated therewith, and spaced abutment means for bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

3. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferendisc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

4. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, a pair of associated supporting ange rings, each supporting ange ring and its associated disc ring being disposed in substantially the same plane, means securing said pair of supporting flange rings tothe ends of said conveyor drum concentrically of the axis of said drum, and elastic meansV extending radially of each supporting flange ring for supporting radially one of said disc rings associated therewith, means for axially adjusting said elastic means along the axis of said conveyor drum, and spaced abutment means forV bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings towardeach other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

5. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of outer spaced disc rings, a pair of associated inner supporting flange rings, each supporting ilange ring and its associated disc ring being disposed in substantially the same plane, means securing said pair of supporting ange rings to the end faces of said conveyor drum concentrically of the axis of said drum, and elastic means extending from the inner peripheries of said outer disc rings to the peripheries of said inner supporting ange rings for elastically supporting said disc rings radially of the axis of said drum, and a pair of spaced abutments for bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings towardV each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

6. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveyingsaid cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, a pair of associated supporting iiange rings secured to the ends of said conveyor drum concentrically of the axis of said drum, a second pair of flange rings supported upon the aforesaid supporting iange rings, means for adjusting the position of said second pair of flange rings axially with respect to said supporting flange rings, and elastic means extending radially of the axis of said conveyor drum from the peripheries of said second pair of flange rings to the inner peripheries of said disc rings to elastically support the same, and a pair of spaced abutments bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments -together.

7. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, elastic means including ,3- llality of spaced radially disposed elastic elements disspagaat 5 posed radially of the axis of said conveyor drum for elas tically supporting said disc rings radially of the axis of said conveyor drum, and spaced abutment means for bear ing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

8. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respective mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced endto-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, elastic means including an elastic diaphragm disposed radially of the axis of said conveyor drum for elastically supporting said disc rings radially of the axis of said conveyor drum, and spaced abutment means for bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together.

9. A shifting device for axially shifting together a plurality of cigarettes and respecn've mouthpiece attachments disposed in spaced end-to-end relation including a conveyor drum having a plurality of spaced circumferentially disposed grooves for conveying said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments in spaced end-to-end relation, a pair of spaced disc rings, elastic means disposed radially of the axis of said conveyor drum for elastically supporting said disc rings radially of the axis of said conveyor drum, spaced abutment means for bearing upon the disc rings and forcing said disc rings toward each other to shift said cigarettes and mouthpiece attachments together, and a side face of at least one disc n'ng being bevelled so as to be parallel to the end face of one of said cigarettes in the thrust position of said disc ring.

Hohn Apr. l0, 1930 Edwards July 18, 1939 

